Ex-Nineveh governor calls for help to rid Mosul of Iran

Former
Governor of Nineveh Province Atheel Al-Nujaifi has called on the international
community to intervene and help rid the northern city of Mosul of the influence
of Iranian-backed militias who seized the city from ISIS in 2017.

“The
conflict of regional interests in Iraq in general and the city of Mosul in
particular has disturbed social peace in the city and turned its components
against each other,” Al-Nujaifi said in an exclusive interview with Khaleej Online news site.

“The American-Iranian conflict
is raging and its arms have cost the city and its people dearly. All of our
indicators confirm that we as political actors and civil society are unable to
confront the influence of both Washington and Tehran. Therefore we need to
involve the international community by internationalising the case of Mosul in
order to impose the Iraqi vision adopted by the people of the city, which are
not being taken into consideration,” he said.

“Iranian-backed militias have
controlled the city’s capabilities since its liberation from ISIS with the aim
of achieving financial and political gains by exploiting the security imbalance
and their influence in state institutions,” he added.